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Getting Traction on Positive Youth Justice: Prosocial Identity as a Promising Target for Intervention
The positive youth justice (PYJ) paradigm emphasizes building youthsâ strengths and prosocial attributes to promote healthy development and desistance from antisocial behavior. Despite broad support for PYJ, direct application of the model to juvenile justice interventions has been limited by its multitude of components and global targets. In this article, we chart an innovative pathway from theory to intervention that centers on promoting prosocial identity, or the extent to which young people view themselves as prosocial.We synthesize theory and evidence from developmental science and criminology to demonstrate thatâwith individual effort and environmental supportâa youthâs identity can be shifted in the prosocial direction to promote desistance from antisocial behavior. Our intervention framework specifies three targets for change: content of the future possible self (promoting hope for a future prosocial self, balanced by fear of a future antisocial self), prosocial identity prominence (importance to the self), and prosocial identity validation (confidence that the self can be achieved). To realize the promise of this framework, researchers and practitioners can build consensus on measures of prosocial identity, assess the extent to which identity changes in response to existing strength-based services, and further establish the protective utility of prosocial identity. Interventions that directly target identity content, prominence, or validation should also be tested for their impact on antisocial behavior. When combined with relevant policy levers, we expect this identity-based approach to add value to existing services. Understanding that shifts in identity are both possible and matter, can help chart new pathways for promoting positive youth development
High Risk, Not Hopeless: Correctional Intervention For People At Risk For Violence
Across the United States, jurisdictions are working to reduce absurdly high incarceration rates without jeopardizing historically low crime rates. Well-validated risk assessment can identify people at low risk who can be managed safely in the community. But what about high-risk people? In this Article, we synthesize research on effective ways to identify and reduce risk of reoffending among people at high risk of recidivism, including people with psychopathic traits. To maximize the impact of criminal justice reform, we recommend that policymakers prioritize high risk clients for treatment, provide treatments most likely to work with these clients, and reframe incarceration as an opportunity for excellent service provision
Justice Policy Reform for High-Risk Juveniles: Using Science to Achieve Large-Scale Crime Reduction
After a distinctly punitive era, a period of remarkable reform in juvenile crime regulation has begun. Practical urgency has fueled interest in both crime reduction and research on the prediction and malleability of criminal behavior. In this rapidly changing context, high-risk youth â the small proportion of the population where crime is concentrated â present a conundrum. Research indicates that these are precisely the individuals to intensively treat to maximize crime reduction, but there are both real and imagined barriers to doing so. Institutional placement or criminal court processing can exclude these youths from interventions that would better protect public safety. In this article, we synthesize relevant research to help resolve this challenge in a manner that is consistent with the lawâs core principles. In our view, adolescence offers unique opportunities for risk reduction that could (with modifications) be realized in the juvenile justice system in cooperation with other social institutions
Identifying Psychiatric Patients at Risk for Repeated Involvement in Violence: The Next Step Toward Intensive Community Treatment Programs
Recent studies indicate that a small, but critical subgroup of psychiatric patients is involved in a disproportionately large number of violent incidents among the mentally ill. This subgroup is an appropriate focus for intensive community-based treatment programs designed to reduce violence. However, little research has been conducted on methods for identifying patients who repeatedly become involved in violent incidents. This article describes a large follow-up study in which these patients were identified using a simple screening process that is feasible for routine use. This screening process efficiently and effectively identified a small minority of patients who were at risk for repeated involvement in violence. Patients deemed âat riskâ by the screening process had an average of 7 violent incidents during a six-month follow-up period. The characteristics of these patients are described, and implications of the screening tool for conducting future research, targeting individuals for more intensive treatment services, and developing violence-focused treatment programs are discussed
Factor structure and validity of the MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool--Criminal Adjudication.
A Case for Humans-in-the-Loop: Decisions in the Presence of Erroneous Algorithmic Scores
The increased use of algorithmic predictions in sensitive domains has been
accompanied by both enthusiasm and concern. To understand the opportunities and
risks of these technologies, it is key to study how experts alter their
decisions when using such tools. In this paper, we study the adoption of an
algorithmic tool used to assist child maltreatment hotline screening decisions.
We focus on the question: Are humans capable of identifying cases in which the
machine is wrong, and of overriding those recommendations? We first show that
humans do alter their behavior when the tool is deployed. Then, we show that
humans are less likely to adhere to the machine's recommendation when the score
displayed is an incorrect estimate of risk, even when overriding the
recommendation requires supervisory approval. These results highlight the risks
of full automation and the importance of designing decision pipelines that
provide humans with autonomy.Comment: Accepted at ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (ACM
CHI), 202
Court Review: Volume 40, Issue 3-4 - Problem-Solving Supervision: Specialty Probation for Individuals with Mental Illnesses
One of the most important developments in American law over the last decade has been the exponential growth of problem-solving courts. Such courts achieve efficiencies by consolidating certain types of cases before specially designated judges. Additionally, in many instances, problem-solving courts adopt a therapeutic focus by attempting to achieve outcomes (e.g., obtaining treatment for a defendant) that go beyond the traditional goals of the judicial system. A recent commentary in this journal noted that âproblem-solving courts generally focus on the underlying chronic behaviors of criminal defendants.â These courts include, but are not limited to drug courts, mental health courts, domestic violence courts, and teen smoking cessation courts. Perhaps the first prototypical problem-solving court was the juvenile court. Today, problem-solving courts exist in many countries throughout the world
Introduction to the Special Issue on Juvenile Psychopathy, Volume 2: Juvenile Psychopathy: Informing the Debate
A recent explosion of interest in the topic of ââjuvenile psychopathyââ has been accompanied by sharp debate about whether the construct of psychopathy can validly and should be applied to youth. In the second consecutive special issue of Behavioral Sciences and the Law devoted to the topic of juvenile psychopathy, we present additional empirical articles to inform this debate. As noted in the first issue (Petrila & Skeem, 2003), three underlying controversies seem paramount: (i) the validity of extending adult models of psychopathy downward to youth, given patterns of personality development; (ii) the malleability or treatability of psychopathy- like features during youth; and (iii) the ethical and moral appropriateness of assessing psychopathy during youth. This volume contains six articles on juvenile psychopathy focused on three general topics, including the psychometrics of juvenile psychopathy measures; the relationship between psychopathy-like features and treatment progress; and a ââroad-mapââ for assessing the validity of psychopathy in youth
What Role Does Serious Mental Illness Play in Mass Shootings and How Should We Address It?
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